Husbands (1970)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes (written by)

Release Date:

8 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A comedy about life, death and freedom

Plot:

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave together...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Friend | Swimming | Midlife Crisis | Chinese

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Ben Gazzara	...	Harry
Peter Falk	...	Archie Black
John Cassavetes	...	Gus Demetri
Jenny Runacre	...	Mary Tynan
Jenny Lee Wright	...	Pearl Billingham
Noelle Kao	...	Julie
John Kullers	...	Red
Meta Shaw Stevens	...	Annie (as Meta Shaw)
Leola Harlow	...	Leola
Delores Delmar	...	The Countess
Eleanor Zee	...	Mrs. Hines
Claire Malis	...	Stuart's Wife
Peggy Lashbrook	...	Diana Mallabee
Eleanor Gould	...	"Normandy" Singer
Sarah Felcher	...	Sarah

Also Known As:

Husbands: A Comedy About Life, Death and Freedom (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including sexual situations, language, drunkenness, and brief domestic violence.

Runtime:

Japan:131 min | USA:138 min (original release) | USA:131 min (TV version: Sony Pictures Television print) | 154 min (San Francisco Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Faces Music

Quotes:

Gus Demetri: Don't believe truth. Archie, just don't believe truth.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crossing Criminal Cultures (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

When It's Apple Blossom Time in Normandy

A Classic of it's Type

Three men (Falk, Cassavettes, and Gazzara) mourn the death of a friend by going on a long-weekend bender, during which they talk about life, experience masculine pleasures, and try to understand the meaning of it all.

This was the first Cassavettes movie I've ever seen. I liked it, which was surprising because this is not the sort of movie I'm generally interested in. There's almost no plot to speak of, most of the movie feels improvised (although improvised along certain set themes -- one does feel the heavy hand of the director here and there). It's a slice of life movie that still feels pretty rough and daring; I imagine in 1970, when this came out, people couldn't make hide nor hare of it.

Like most movies of this type, the big flaw is structure. The movie takes forever to get going, and doesn't really seem to know when to quit: the last reel, in particular, felt a little long to me. Plus, as I said, there is here and there a sense of a structure being imposed from without: the guys don't just do anything, they do certain set things for "character revelation" sake.

The acting, which is the crucial thing in a movie like this, of course, doesn't disappoint. All three men are very believable: they delineate their macho world quite well, with it's romanticism, bathos, insecurities and obnoxiousness. They're similar types of guys, which bothered me a lot at first but upon reflection made a lot of sense, since in real life we tend to be friends with people like us. Still, there are gradations and variations: Falk is inarticulate and sensitive, Gazzara despairing, Cassavettes is fumbling toward some kind of self-recognition.

The cinematography is absolutely stunning -- I might have seen a particularly nice print but this took me by surprise. Most of the movie is shot in warm, earthy, romantic tones, which sets the mood of nostalgia and dreams well, I think. Every now and then, though, we get a cold, full-on daytime shot where everyone looks naked and blinking under a frigid sun; it's a good counterpoint.

This is an important film by an important director. He'll never be a favorite of mine, but I'll definitely check out other work of his. You'll be doing yourself a favor if you do the same.